Putnam sex sting snares 14, with 1 from Gainesville, 2 from Marion

GateHouse Media

Thursday

Mar 8, 2018 at 2:34 PMMar 8, 2018 at 10:39 PM

“Operation Be Mine” landed 14 men in jail following an undercover investigation targeting adults who prey on children using social media and other forms of online communication, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

The sheriff's office said the men, 18 to 63 years old, either traveled with intent to have sex with a minor or solicited a minor over the internet for sexual purposes. They were met by members of the SWAT team. Of the 14 suspects arrested in the operation that began early last month, only one was from Putnam County. One, 26-year-old Brandon Riggs of Trenton, is a Florida Department of Corrections juvenile detention officer.

The following were charged with traveling to have sex with a minor:

• Brandon Riggs, 26, of Trenton;

• Austin Ezra Triplett, 23, of Gainesville;

• Devon Shaquiell Sherman, 23, of Madison;

• Wayne Douglas Rohn, 34, of South Daytona;

• Donald Lee Bell, 63, of Summerfield;

• Joseph Furey Lusk, 43, of Orlando;

• Cade Hunter Collins, 18, of Hollister;

• Gary Edward Riley III, 22, of Orlando;

• Michael Jeffrey Glenn, 35, of Jacksonville;

• Richard Dennison, 46, of Jacksonville;

• Jeffrey Michael Byrum, 37, hometown unknown; and

• Kenneth Richard Hillman, 54, of Homerville, Georgia.

The others were Edward John Horn, 32, of Dunnellon, charged with soliciting a minor for sex; and Gary Simo, 45, charged with transmitting pornography to a minor from a cellphone smuggled into prison. Simo is serving a life sentence for robbery in the South Bay Correctional Facility, the sheriff's office said.